WAUWATOSA, Wis. — A foundation that has poured more than $1 million into Wauwatosa schools has been operating without the required state license.
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The Education Foundation of Wauwatosa (EFW), which raises and awards money for education initiatives in the Wauwatosa School District, has been operating without an active charitable organization license since 2019, despite being required by Wisconsin law.
"Certainly it was just something that I thought people should know, so I felt like I should mention it," Justin Dux said.
Dux, who has children in the Wauwatosa School District and serves as Wauwatosa STEM's treasurer, first noticed the licensing issue and reached out to TMJ4's Jenna Rae to investigate.
Watch: Wauwatosa parents raise concerns over education foundation's licensing status
"I noticed that this group that really does a great job supporting teachers and students in Wauwatosa, that they may not have submitted the appropriate paperwork," Dux explained.
The EFW is separate from the Wauwatosa School district, but pulls in tens of thousands of dollars annually. According to its website, it's awarded more than $72,253 this year.
"Certainly concerning. I hope when all is said and done, they're able to reinstate or the miss is able to be corrected," parent Laura Windpassinger said.
It's a miss that happened six years ago, according to the state.
When TMJ4 called EFW's president, Jackie Costa, Wednesday, she said she didn't know about a charitable organization license.
In Wisconsin, a license is required if a charitable organization receives $25,000 or more in contributions in a fiscal year.
IRS tax records show the EFW accepted nearly $40,000 in contributions in both 2021 and 2022.
Department of Financial Institution (DFI) open records show EFW's license was revoked in 2019 after a "failure to submit the complete annual financial report required by state statute."
It's license was never reinstated.
"My hope is it's just a mistake," Dux commented.
"It's concerning that it wasn't discovered until recently," Windpassinger added.
Windpassinger, who has two children in the district, said these EFW grants make a big impact in the classroom.
"Our school this year is getting a book vending machine. We've also had some significant contributions to our discovery lab, which my kids spend a lot of time in and have really enjoyed their time," Windpassinger explained.
It's time and money Windpassinger said she hopes continues for her kids and their teachers.
"The teachers who are already stretched so thin dedicate a lot of their time and effort in dotting all their i's and crossing all their t's to get these important tools for their students, and so it's unfortunate that the powers that be may not be doing the same," she said.
While Costa wasn't available for an interview Wednesday, she later provided a statement, saying—in part—because of board transitions, they missed a communication from the DFI regarding the charitable organization registration and are taking steps to renew the license.
Here's the statement in full:
"Every member of the Education Foundation of Wauwatosa board is a dedicated volunteer committed to enriching the educational experience for all students in Wauwatosa public schools. Since 1990, the Foundation has raised funds annually and awarded more than $1 million in grants that support innovative teaching and learning in every classroom in our district.
Unfortunately, because of board transitions, we missed a communication from the Department of Financial Institutions regarding our charitable organization registration but have been taking steps to renew our license. We appreciate your questions and want to ensure you, our donors and the community that our filings will remain up to date moving forward.
We are committed to operating with transparency and accountability while continuing to invest in the future of our students and Tosa School District educators."
"The EFW does a tremendous amount of things that's been really helpful for the Wauwatosa community. We all just need to make sure we hold ourselves to the highest of standards," Dux added.
"These types of requirements exist for a good reason so it's important that they follow them just as anyone else is expected to do," Windpassinger said.
Another parent TMJ4 spoke with Wednesday over the phone said "we have attended many of their [EFW] events over the years and donated to the organization. We would continue to do so even if their official non-profit license was lapsed."
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